MOSCOW, October 19. /TASS/. Russia’s State Duma (lower house of parliament) has adopted an address to the United Nations and the world’s parliaments regarding the current escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Members of the State Duma of the Russian Federal Assembly call on the United Nations and the world’s parliaments to immediately take every possible measure to put an end to the bloodshed and an escalation of violence against civilians in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and prevent an unprecedented humanitarian disaster in the Middle East," the document reads.
Russian lawmakers point out that the October 17 rocket attack on a hospital in the Gaza Strip, which killed hundreds of innocent civilians, including women and children, highlighted the scale of the tragedy now unfolding in the region. "Unjustified brutality and the excessive use of force have already claimed thousands of lives. The use of barbaric means for resolving political issues by force have triggered major anti-Semitic and Islamophobic protests across the world," the address said.
The State Duma also strongly condemned all violations of humanitarian law by the parties to the conflict, including the use of munitions banned by international agreements, carpet bombings and strikes on civilian infrastructure, namely medical, energy and water supply facilities, as well as the forced relocation of civilians.
The address stressed that those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity should be brought to justice and receive the most severe punishment. In addition, the lawmakers slammed the immoral and reckless policies of the US-led collective West, "who are impeding efforts to end the Middle East conflict, while fueling war in this long-suffering region."
"State Duma members call on the world’s lawmakers to make every possible effort to end military operations in the conflict zone, set up humanitarian corridors and provide the necessary assistance to those wounded and the families of those killed. Only by combining our efforts will we be able to stop another war in the Middle East and return to negotiations that should be based on a balanced approach and the well-known resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council," the document said.
According to Palestinian sources, a strike on the Al-Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip on October 17 killed 471 people and left 342 wounded. Palestine blamed the attack on the Israeli Air Force but Israel said that the explosion had resulted from a misfired rocket launched by the Islamic Jihad group. Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon declared a period of mourning for the victims. A four-party summit in Amman, which had been expected to bring together President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt, President Joe Biden of the United States, President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine and King Abdullah II of Jordan, was canceled after news of the attack broke.